The Wilson Center and Elections

As nineteen African countries prepare to go to the polls in the upcoming year, please join us for a panel discussion exploring the progress that Africa has made with consolidating democracy, the role that electoral management bodies have played, the challenges faced by electoral commissions, lessons learned and the prospects for enhanced management of elections in Africa. more

"For me, greatness means the following: You confront one of the three greatest nation-encumbering crises that the country faced; you extract from that crisis — as you weather it — some sort of transformative change that makes the nation better forever; and, in time, you are appreciated by your own partisans, as well as your adversaries, as a true national hero," says Aaron David Miller. more

"For me, greatness means the following: You confront one of the three greatest nation-encumbering crises that the country faced; you extract from that crisis — as you weather it — some sort of transformative change that makes the nation better forever; and, in time, you are appreciated by your own partisans, as well as your adversaries, as a true national hero," says Aaron David Miller.

"At this point in his presidency, Barack Obama has an opportunity to build consensus. With Eric Holder’s resignation, he should consider taking this opportunity to mend fences and revive a Cabinet once billed as a 'team of rivals.' So how about a Republican for attorney general?" writes Jane Harman.

"Despite its claims to the contrary, ISIS looks outmatched. But our recent strikes were just an opening salvo. A considered, long-term strategy (including kinetic action) needs a careful framework and congressional authorization. The debate is crucial, and the only way to make room for debate is with a special session of Congress. The president should seek it now," writes Jane Harman.

As nineteen African countries prepare to go to the polls in the upcoming year, please join us for a panel discussion exploring the progress that Africa has made with consolidating democracy, the role that electoral management bodies have played, the challenges faced by electoral commissions, lessons learned and the prospects for enhanced management of elections in Africa.

As the mid-term elections approach, one of the biggest questions this November will be about the future of the Keystone XL pipeline. On October 7, the Canada Institute convened a panel of experts to discuss the reasons for the KXL pipeline becoming the political football it is today, as well as what the proposed project means for the upcoming elections, the legal underpinnings of the approval process, and where the pipeline will go from here, both in Nebraska and in Washington, D.C.

During the last decade, Mexico has implemented a comprehensive set of institutional reforms to combat discretion, inefficiency and corruption. After the successful efforts beginning in the last decades to build a new electoral system that allowed a peaceful transition from a single party regime to a pluralist democracy, the public agenda began focusing on challenging the traditional way to exercise authority gained in the polls. This text is a brief summary of the set of changes and challenges Mexico has faced during this period as well as of the vigorous debate on how to build complete, articulate, and coherent accountability in the country.

CWIHP is pleased to announce the addition of 13 new documents to its online Digital Archive. In CWIHP e-Dossier No. 33, the newly translated documents reveal the Vietnamese Communist Party's "Talk-Fight" negotiation strategy, first described by First Secretary Le Duan in a 1965 speech and put into action during initial 1968 peace talks.

Jane Harman resigned from Congress February 28, 2011 to join the Woodrow Wilson Center as its first female Director, President and CEO. Representing the aerospace center of California during nine terms in Congress, she served on all the major security committees: six years on Armed Services, ei...

Jesús Zambrano Grijalva is currently President of the Party of the Democratic Revolution, Mexico’s largest leftist party. He has been a federal deputy for his party as well as a social activist.Mr. Zambrano began his political activities as a student leader while attending the University of Sonora....